tis not madness
by the insane have strength
Summary: "Was it foolish to keep his hopes up? Was it fair to Jack to give him a mother figure and then take it away? No, Hotch couldn't think like that. He had to keep positive. Not every relationship was going to be like his and Haley's, he had to realize that." Hotch/OFC.


_"This is the air; that is the glorious sun; / This pearl she gave me, I do feel't and see't; / And though 'tis wonder that enwraps me thus, / Yet 'tis not madness."_  
― William Shakespeare, 'Twelfth Night'

* * *

Early September, 2010.

* * *

"Dad, catch it! Jack shouted, picking up his baseball with both hands and throwing it towards his father. Agent Aaron Hotchner caught the ball easily in one strong hand, smiling at his son.

"Good throw, buddy!" He called, gently throwing the ball back. Jack reached out his hands to catch it, but watched as it dropped to the grassy ground with a soft thud. The six year old boy bent down to retrieve the ball, and, still smiling as wide as ever, threw the object at his father.

Man, Jack reminded him of Haley. The glint in his eyes -even though they were a mirror of his own brown eyes- and the way he mentally leaped sharply from one thing to the next.

But there were parts of Haley that Hotch was glad his son hadn't inherited. The part that refused to take the blame and could hold grudges for years on end. Aaron knew that even as Haley was moments from death, she still couldn't forgive him. She was a sweet woman, and he had loved her, but she couldn't give him the same love back.

Aaron knew, deep down, that although Haley loved him dearly, she could never truly be in love with him. She had been, once, before he got the job at the BAU, when they were pure and happy and full of youth and embarking on their new relationship together, as a couple, then as betrothed, and as spouses. But then everything changed. Haley wanted to travel, to focus on her family. She didn't realize that Hotch had two families. One was made up of his wife and son, the other formed by his work colleagues.

He couldn't bring himself to admit that there was a side of Haley that was horrible to him, even after all these years. A part of her that always doubted him.

"Oi, you two handsome devils!" A familiar female voice wafted through the air. Surfacing out of his taxing inner monologue and into reality, Aaron turned around to see Vi standing next to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning over to kiss him.

"Vi!" Jack bounded over to hug his father's girlfriend tightly. She smiled, the fringe of her pixie-cut black hair flopping in her face.

"Hey, how was school?" She asked kindly, her British accent caressing the simple sentence and turning it into poetry. Aaron loved to hear her speak. Not only did she have things worth listening to, but she made every word sound beautiful and exotic.

He watched the pale blue-green-grey gaze of his lover lock with the dark chocolate eyes – his eyes – of his young son. He saw the connection between the two, the understanding they both shared.

"Awesome!" Jack replied. His eyes suddenly got a familiar mischievous glint. "I was picked first for soccer teams at recess, and I had hot dogs and fries and a chocolate milkshake for lunch! Then my teacher gave me a bran' new video game because I got perfect on all of my tests." He beamed as he dreamed up his ideal day on the spot. The woman in front of him smiled, shaking her jagged bangs out of her eyes with a toss of her head.

Viola and Jack played this game every day, they pretended that they had just had the most perfect day of their life. It was harmless fun that they both enjoyed.

"What did you do?" Jack inquired. Vi brushed Jack's hair out of his face lovingly, smiling as Aaron's arm slipped around her waist.

"Hm, well." She sighed, resting her head on Hotch's shoulder. "First, I went to work, and Catalina told me that there was mail for me." Jack's eyes widened in excitement. "Inside the envelope was a lottery ticket. A winning lottery ticket." Aaron chuckled. "I had won two billion dollars!" Jack clapped his hands with glee but fell silent quickly, eager to hear the rest of the story. "And so I quit my job, and I came home, and your dad was there. We went out for lunch at a lovely French restaurant, and went for a walk in the park. It wasn't time to pick you up at school yet, so we went to see a production at the theatre." She smiled. "Then I went out for ice cream with some friends, and I just got back now."

Jack grinned. "Wow, your day beats mine." He shrugged and took the baseball out of his father's hand.

Aaron sighed and kissed his girlfriend's tattooed neck quickly. She never ceased to amaze him. Especially considering her scarring past.

Viola Desdemona Austen had lost both of her parents in a fire when she was very young. She had bounced in and out of foster homes for years, some of them lovely, some of them less than decent. When she was sixteen years old, she decided that she wanted to learn the art of boating. For the next few years, she had been set on keeping up her hobby, and finally, when she turned twenty, she made it change her life. She bought a sailboat, sailed around Europe, travelling to Greece and Italy, anything oceanside, bunking in the homes of generous strangers and spending days moving from village to village.

With some of the money she had earned working various jobs, and after selling her beloved sailboat, she bought a plane ticket and flew to the United States.

She didn't ask for fame, she didn't ask for glory.

She asked for a chance to start over.

And thank God, that's what she was given.

When she arrived in Maine, she hitchhiked all the way to New York City, where she applied for odd jobs. She moved in with a stranger, Moira Cavanagh, a woman who was more than happy to show her around the supposedly greatest country in the world.

After a few years, Moira introduced the younger woman to one of her friends, a criminal profiler by the name of Aaron Hotchner. Aaron immediately struck Viola's interest. Despite the eighteen year age difference, the two became shockingly close friends, and Viola quickly bonded with Aaron's younger son, Jack.

Vi had, naturally, been the one to approach Aaron about her feelings for him, rather than wait to see if he felt the same. She was all too pleased when he too felt something for her.

That was fourteen months ago to the present date.

Aaron sighed, kissing Vi chastely on the cheek. "We missed you." He said quietly as her arms slipped around his neck.

"Ew!" Jack exclaimed, shielding his eyes at the disgusting display of affection from the two adults. Vi's whole face lit up as she grinned, playfully bending down and planting a kiss on Jack's cheek.

The young boy groaned and squirmed away, wiping off the cooties that Vi had obviously gotten all over him. "Yuck!" He wrinkled up his nose as if there was a foul smell about.

Aaron chuckled, kissed his girlfriend softly once more.

"Dad!" The young boy shouted, his tone nothing less than annoyed.

"Come on," Vi smiled, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Time for supper." The brunette boy's face lit up.

"Supper!" He squealed with glee. Aaron let out a soft laugh at his sons enthusiasm. "What's for supper?" The young boy asked eagerly. Vi smiled, placing a her hands on his shoulders.

"Hmm... I don't know, Jack. I was actually kind of hoping you could help me." She replied smoothly, her gentle accent adding a new flavour to the words. Aaron grinned as she had said just the right thing to brighten up his son's smile even more.

"I can help?" The young boy asked, barely able to contain his enthusiasm. Vi nodded. Jack looked up at his father. "Daddaddaddaddad! Didja hear that? I get to help with supper!" He all but yelled this exciting news to the world. Hotch smiled down at the six year old.

"That's great, buddy." His face changed into a goofy expression. "Can we have cheese popcorn and Twizzlers and chocolate?" He heard his girlfriend stifle a laugh by pressed her teeth against the backs of the knuckles on her right hand. Jack rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"No, daddy." He said firmly. "We need to eat some healthy food, or we'll get sick." He scolded his father.

"It was worth a try." Hotch murmured into Vi's ear. She grinned.

"Oi, Jack," The young boy looked up at her.

"Yes, Vi?" He replied politely and curiously, cocking his head to the side.

"When I came home at lunch, I made brownies." She whispered, as if she didn't want Aaron to hear. The boy's face lit up again.

"Brownies?" He blurted out happily. The young woman nodded. Jack turned to his father. "Dad, you can have one brownie" he held up two fingers, making Vi's grin broaden. "after you eat your healthy food." Hotch smiled, ruffling his son's dark blonde hair.

"Sounds great, bud."

"Come on, Jackie." Vi smiled as Jack grasped her slender hand. "Let's go make something to eat." He nodded. Aaron placed an arm around his girlfriend's waist, and the three set off down the block towards their house.

Hotch still wasn't used to the new house, even though he had been living in it for three months. He and Vi had saved money to buy a nice, well-proportioned house, even Jack had saved up his allowance to help them. His ten dollars and eleven cents wasn't much, but as Vi told him: 'every little bit helps'.

The house wasn't giant, but it wasn't a little cottage like Hotch and Haley had lived in. The house was old and creaky, and for a while each noise had Hotch's fingers twitching towards his gun. He was still haunted by George Foyet, though he didn't like to admit it.

Vi was good for him, she gave him a certain sense of security. She had black belts in judo and karate, and passed her self-defense class with flying colours. She knew how to shoot a gun, and kept a Glock in her bedside drawer, just to make Hotch feel that she was safe when she was at home with Jack while he was off on a case.

After Haley was killed, he couldn't bear to lose somebody because they weren't protected. Vi could protect herself.

Hotch watched with a laugh as Vi handed an eager Jack the keys to the house, eying him patiently as the young boy set his mind on unlocking the house himself.

After a minute, Aaron heard the familiar 'click' of the lock sliding open. Jack pushed the ornate wooden door, stepping into the house. Hotch smiled as his girlfriend stooped to take off her high-heeled shoes. The music note anklet tattoo smiled up at him, as did Vi.

"Good evening, Supervisory Agent Aaron Hotchner." She murmured, hugging him and kissing his lips deeply. The way she said the title made him smile. It was a tone of mock respect, but her accent completed the deal. He sighed, happy to be holding her in his arms. He hadn't seen her for a few days, and he mentally cursed the case he had been working on.

"Vi," he began, kissing her forehead. "I missed you." She smiled.

"I missed you too, you bugger." She replied affectionately. "I'm going to get changed, I miss my sweatpants." Vi said, jogging up the stairs to free herself of her loose red patterned dress.

She worked in the mornings as a hair stylist at one of the most high-end salons in the city, and in the afternoons at the rec centre, teaching music. The violin was Vi's fourth love, preceded by Hotch, Jack, and boating – in that order. And she was good at playing it.

Aaron sighed, thankful that he had come home before going to pick up Jack, he had really needed to change out of that damn suit. He was currently wearing an old olive green t-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans that had yellow paint on them from when he and Vi had painted the kitchen.

He walked into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water, admiring the bright walls and how they really cheered up the room. His girlfriend was very involved in the art community, and had a great eye for what looked good and what didn't. Aaron would have been very happy to paint every room in the house the same shade of blue, or even white, but Vi would have none of that.

As much as he didn't like to admit it, the younger woman, eighteen years his junior, was right about many, many things. She hadn't a clue about profiling, but knew how to relate to different kinds of people and empathize with them. She had a charming personality, often spewing out little facts about herself that people wouldn't think to ask about. Vi was very open about her past, but wouldn't bring it up unless somebody questioned her about it.

Fortunately and unfortunately, she was a very bad liar.

Vi saw no reason to lie, believing that there was no such thing as a good lie. She was honest, but if she felt the truth was hurtful, she wouldn't say anything unless somebody brought it up.

Aaron was still unsure as to why he loved her, but maybe it was all the little things. The colloquial British terms she integrated with the lazy American language, her razor-sharp wit and knack for puns, her love of the opera, her fascinations with Roman mythology and Oriental culture.

When her mouth parted in a small smile as she slept next to him, the way her tongue stuck out ever so slightly while she was concentrating, her polite and seductive way of talking to him, how she found a way to include Jack in everything, her hatred of keeping secrets.

"Blimey," Hotch heard Vi mutter as she came down the straight staircase. She was completely transformed, donning an old grey sweatshirt of Hotch's and black yoga pants that complimented her legs and her bum, Aaron couldn't help but notice.

"What's the 'blimey' about?" He asked. She sighed.

"I got a text from Berk." Vi said, referring to her very effeminate and very anal-retentive male boss at the hair salon, Jason Berkeley. She had long since explained to Hotch that one of the terms she had grown up with was 'berk', which translated formally into 'idiot'.

"Ah." He replied simply before taking another sip of his tall glass of water. "What about?"

"He wants me to work extra hours." She grumbled. "Yay me!" She added sarcastically, her face brightening in mock enthusiasm before dropping back to a deadpan expression. Hotch frowned, setting his glass down and pulling Vi into his arms.

"I thought you liked working there." His tone was inquiring. She shrugged and rested her head into his chest.

"Well, I do, but I like teaching at the rec more, and I need to be with Jack and, oh, he's just guffin' me." Vi kissed one of Aaron's stubbly cheeks, her lips brushing against the coarse hairs that were beginning to grow. He sighed.

"Vi, supperrrrrrrr?" Jack whined, tugging on the hem of her -Hotch's- sweater. Vi smiled, letting go of her boyfriend.

"Sure, Jack." She replied with a genuinely enthusiastic nod. "Let's go make supper."

Aaron watched as his two favourite people in the world walked away, hand in hand, Jack chattering away. Vi looked back and flashed a wink, which made him smile.

He didn't deserve her. Or maybe, she didn't deserve him. She was twenty-seven, almost twenty-eight, looked no older than twenty-five, and he was what, forty-five? When she was born, he was eighteen years old. That's almost twenty years age difference! She deserved someone younger, someone closer to her own age. She should be dating someone like... Reid!

Vi deserved a spunky young man who could run hand-in-hand with her through the thrills of life, who could grow old with her. Not some forty-something FBI agent who was eighteen years older than her, with a child from a previous marriage that had ended in destruction.

What kind of justice was that, being in a relationship with a guy like Hotch?

Aaron sighed, setting the empty water glass in the dishwasher. Another smile appeared on his face as Jack came up the stairs from the basement, carrying a black reusable grocery bag.

"It's a surprise." The six year old boys instructed carefully, giving his father the most serious expression possible for a six year old boy. Aaron nodded.

"Alright buddy, call me when supper's ready, alright?" Jack nodded and tapped his foot impatiently, pointing at the archway out into the rest of the house. As Vi reappeared from the basement, she smiled and assumed the same position as Jack, even mirroring the young boy's expression.

Defeated, Hotch threw his arms up in the air with a loud breath, walking out of the kitchen. He plucked a book off of the shelf and lay down on the long suede couch, stretching out and stuffing a pillow behind his back. It had been a long time since he had settled down to read something other than a case file or the newspaper. It was time to catch up.

Aaron let himself get lost in Robert Ludlum's world of 'The Prometheus Deception'. The book had come out eleven years ago, and Aaron had picked it up at a neighbourhood garage sale a few months back. He had started to read it, but became too involved with work to finish the thrilling 'New York Times' bestseller that was claimed to be Ludlum's more ingenious novel yet.

"Daddy!" Jack shouted, running over to his father. "Supper's ready!" He beamed, proud at having been able to help Vi with supper.

"Smells good, bud." Hotch replied, dog-earing his current page -a bad habit, Vi kept reminding him- and setting the novel down. The house was filled with warm smells of garlic, pepper, and onion.

Aaron smiled as his son let him into the kitchen, the expression on Jack's face showing pure excitement and pride. Vi pulled something out of the oven, a tray of rolled-up tortillas.

"Jack, are you going to tell your dad what we made?" She asked.

"Beef tacky-toes and-" he paused, frowning. Vi whispered the rest of the meal in his ear. "An-ti-pas-to salad!" He continued, careful not to mess up his new word, pronouncing every syllable carefully.

"Taquitos, Jack." Vi corrected. He nodded and shrugged, bouncing on his tiptoes. "Wanna be the first to try one?" She offered, blowing on one of the taquitos to cool it down. He nodded fervently.

A loud "Yeah!" was his reply as the young woman gently handing him one of the newly-baked creations. Aaron smiled at his son as Jack took a bite of the 'tacky-toe'. The verdict was clear on the new dish as Jack exclaimed with a vibrant "Yum!" after much consideration.

Hotch planted a kiss on Vi's forehead as she handed him an empty plate. "It looks great." He said softly.

"All thanks to Jack." She replied, her gaze flickering towards the young boy, who's eyes were trained on the baking sheets covered in taquitos.

"Violaaaa," He whined. She sighed, grabbing a blue plastic plate out of one of the cupboards.

"Alright, alright." She reassured him that his supper would come all in good time. Vi spooned some of the antipasto salad onto the plate, just a couple small spoonfuls, and then let him pick out his own taquitos. Jack insisted that he wanted six, because

"I'm six years old and if I had six tacky-toes than I'd have one tacky-toe for each year since I was borned, see?" but in the end Vi convinced him that three taquitos was a better choice.

She turned to Aaron. "You're not going to tell me that you want forty-five taquitos because it's been forty-five years since you've been 'borned', are you?" She asked suspiciously.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nope."

"Good." She mused before putting a couple large spoonfuls of the salad on her plate. Hotch smiled, taking the spoon from her and serving himself. Jack walked to the table, holding the plate at eye level, careful not to lose any of his precious 'tacky-toes' to the floor.

The two adults joined Jack at the table, watching him carefully as he decided to pour himself a glass of chocolate milk. His chest puffed out with pride after a victorious mission, he returned to the table and sat down, quickly attacking his taquitos.

The three shared stories, Vi inquiring about Hotch's newest case and listening as he told her all he was allowed to tell her. She was an incredibly good listener, often bringing up things and relations to other cases that he hadn't ever thought about or considered. Haley had never wanted to hear about his job, and her default was just asking how his day was or if it was a complicated case. He often replied with a polite 'it was fine' and not elaborating.

Haley was happy to be shielded from his other world, but Viola was the opposite. She was ready to absorb information, and had a knack for remembering cases he'd had months ago and reminding him that the same modus operandi was used in a present case. She was smart and sharp-witted, ready to crack jokes about things that most people would just grimace at.

But Vi wasn't most people. She was Viola Desdemona Austen -her first and middle names inherited from Shakespearean plays- and no one else. She didn't have multiple sides to her, she wasn't someone different at home than she was at work or with her friends. There was one Vi, and only one. Maybe that was why he loved her.

Hotch completed his story, and took another bite of a taquito.

And, just before Vi was about to start telling Aaron about this kid in her music class, Jack piped up with a small "Vi, can I call you 'mom'?"

Aaron froze, slowly looking up at Vi. She was sitting at her place, mouth agape. She was staring at Jack, who was patiently waiting for her reply. He watched as her eyes slowly filled with tears.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked politely, an expression of genuine concern on his face. He pushed his chair away from the table and toddled over to hug Vi. "I'm sorry." He apologized.

Aaron met her gaze as she hugged Jack. He nodded, smiling, feeling beads of emotion form in his own eyes. She broke into a grin, kissing Jack's forehead sweetly and holding him at arms' length. Her tears had disappeared quicker than they had arrived.

"Sweetie, there's no need to be sorry." She said firmly. "You just made me so happy, that I, I started to cry." Jack mirrored her smile. "Of course you can call me your mum." Vi replied, her smile stretching impossibly wider than before. Aaron stood up, eager to join in the hug and wrap his two favourite people on this earth in his strong arms. However, he felt a sharp tug deep in his stomach. If things with him and Vi didn't work out, Jack would be heartbroken. Was it foolish to keep his hopes up? Was it fair to Jack to give him a mother figure and then take it away? No, Hotch couldn't think like that. He had to keep positive. Not every relationship was going to be like his and Haley's, he had to realize that.

"Daddydaddydaddy!" Jack chanted, poking his head up from Vi's shoulder. "Vi's gonna be my mom!" He squealed. Aaron fought to keep his feet planted on the ground and not run out of the house yelling to the world that Vi was his.

"So I heard." He replied calmly, an ecstatic undertone running through his voice. Jack hummed back to his place at the table, obviously having had enough of the conversation, but not enough 'tacky-toe'. His third taquito was lying alone on the plate, aside from the bits of parsley that Jack had decided (aloud) that he didn't like.

"Dinner's great, mom." Hotch murmured, calling his girlfriend by the title she'd be wearing from hereinafter. He sighed and walked back to his seat, where he picked up his fork again and finished his last few bites of salad. Vi caught his eye, one eye closing and opening sharply in a playful wink.

Haley never did anything like this, at least not once they were married. When they were young and in love, life was easy. They could flirt, they could have sex on the couch if they wanted to, they would drive out to the beach on a whim just to lie on the sand and smile into each other's eyes.

Then, it changed. Haley became serious, almost bored. She was unhappy, and made Hotch feel like he was to blame. He was, partially, he wrecked their fantasy of having a happy family and living in a nice cottage by the ocean. His job got in the way of that.

Vi was different. She made Aaron feel like he didn't have to be strong all the time, at least not for her. She had been beaten and raped as a kid, she still had scars, but he didn't need to cradle her when she was upset. Vi was tough.

For the rest of the meal, each member of the household was elated. When Jack finally put his plate in the sink -with direction from his father, of course- and took one of the brownies out of the tin, Vi sighed, standing up and placing her own empty plate in the sink. Aaron walked over to her to stand behind her slender form, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. She turned her head to the side and kissed his cheek.

"Hm," she mused softly. He touched his lips momentarily to her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. She smelled like her favourite perfume, something with a pale purple label and a name he'd never remember, that was infused like strawberries, jasmine, and white amber.

"'Hm'?" Hotch replied. "What does 'hm' mean?" He asked. Vi sighed, stroking his forearm with one finger.

"I don't know." She shrugged and turned around, staring up into his eyes, however cliché it was. "I..." Another sigh. "I just really hope this works out." So, she had been thinking the same thing he had. "I mean..."

"Us." Aaron finished for her. Vi nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm pretty sure it will, but..." She trailed off, dismissing the topic with a shake of her head. He could see her push the thoughts to the back of her mind. "I love you, Aaron Hotchner." He smiled, something he had become brilliant at once again. Every time she said that she loved him, his heart beat faster and he could practically hear the romantic music swells like they played in those sappy movies they both hated.

"I know." He teased. "I love you too." He whispered against her forehead. When she wasn't wearing her high-heels, she only came up to his nose, so his lips were often poised right at her forehead. He let out a content exhale, hugging her tightly to him. "Shit." He muttered. Vi leaned her head back and looked at him, eyebrows furrowed in a concerned frown.

"What?" She asked suspiciously. He sighed.

"Paperwork."

"Ah." She nodded. "I see." Hotch shrugged apologetically. "Well," she patted his chest and kissed him chastely on the lips. "You go be super-FBI-agent-man and, uh, I'll go be super-dish-washing-woman." Vi flashed a smile. He kissed her again.

"You don't need to do that, I'll do-"

"Aaron." She raised a black eyebrow. "Go do the job you're paid to do." She ordered. "Or I'll set your son after you." She threatened. He opened his mouth to argue, but closed it, realizing that there was no point. He exited the room, but not before he heard Vi mutter an affectionate insult.

"You too, Vi!" He called over his shoulder.

"What I just called you is impossible to apply to me, seeing as I don't have one!" She retorted.

Grinning, Aaron grabbed his black briefcase and go bag before making his way up the stairs to his office. Jack was in his own room, lying belly-up on the bed. He had one action figure in each hand, and was avidly playing with both of them.

"Oh no, it's the Spice Girl!" The young boy said, completely involved in his game. Hotch smiled. 'Spice Girl' was the name Vi had chosen when Jack offered to name one of his figures after her. She had chosen a replica of 'Arisia Rrab: Green Lantern of Graxos IV' and named it after the women her young adolescent self had learned to idolize. Spice Girl had recently begun appearing in Jack's stories more and more, which made both Aaron and Vi smile whenever they heard the six year old playing in with her.

Aaron continued on his way to his office, where he opened the sliding wooden door, not bothering to close it again. He opened up his briefcase, pulling out a well-proportioned stack of papers. He sat down at the handsome desk that overlooked the street, and sighed.

This last case in Vermont had been particularly brutal, and finding the unsub had been tricky. Five girls between the ages of four and eleven had gone missing from their houses, only for their bodies to turn up before the week was out.

The profile that the BAU had run with was always changing, the unsub always led them to believe one thing and then something completely alternate. The way he did something could be a sign of remorse but it could also be a sign of self-control. If it was the latter, then that as well as the evident planning of the murders convinced them that he was an organized killer. But then the careless way he disposed of the bodies had them wondering just how organized he was.

Eventually, however, the profile led to a certain Benjamin Hayworth. When the team finally caught Hayworth, he was in a completely broken down mental state. He was, to summarize; a wreck.

After the extraordinarily stressful week-long case, Aaron was grateful to finally be back home with his family.

He closed the case file after what seemed like forever, having finished making notes and filling out each form that was required for him to fill out.

"Dad!" Jack's voice appeared behind him, and Aaron turned around to see his young son, pyjama-clad, standing in the doorway. "Can I come in an' say goodnight?" He asked. His father nodded, and the blonde boy came running into the study.

"Goodnight, buddy." Hotch hugged his son snugly, kissing the top of his dark blonde head. "Sweet dreams, okay?" Jack nodded.

"You too, daddy." He replied with a smile before turning to sprint out of the room and into Vi's arms. "Mom, have sweet dreams too, okay?" He said, politely commanding the young woman. She smiled and nodded her head, ruffling his hair.

"Thanks, I will." She replied, crouching down to his eye level. "Hey, Jack?" He nodded eagerly. "Thanks for letting me be your mum." She said softly. He hugged her again.

"I love you, mom." Jack whispered. Even though his voice was hushed Aaron could still hear every word. Those four words made him smile. Vi was a part of his family.

As the young woman followed Jack into his room, Hotch rested his head in his hands. He loved Vi, she loved him, Jack loved her, she loved Jack. Everything was perfect.

Haley would hate Vi. She would absolutely hate her. The mother of his child would hate his girlfriend. Vi had multiple tattoos, she dyed her hair black, she owned a motorcycle and a small motorboat. She loved being outside, she didn't mind when Jack's sneakers tracked in mud from the yard or wherever he'd been. She loved history and museums. She was happy to walk around an art gallery for hours.

Viola would stay awake with him just to listen to Aaron talk about cases or anything that was bothering him. Aaron was sure that he had the perfect fairytale relationship that everyone wanted. At least, he did now.

Haley hated tattoos and the shade of black. She had long since decided that motorcycles were only associated with unreliable people, men with beards, and really slutty bad-girls who were either gold-diggers or criminals. Haley hated being out on the water or even outside, preferring to sit inside and read all day. She was an absolute neat freak, and made Jack take off his shoes on the porch if they were too dirty for her liking. Haley found the past boring, thinking only about her future. Heritage meant nothing to her. As much as she appreciated art, she couldn't figure out why people would put a bunch of pieces in a building and charge people money to go see the exhibits. It never interested her. When Haley and Aaron collapsed after a long day, the former would fall asleep quickly, sometimes without even saying goodnight.

"Aaron?" Vi asked, snapping Hotch back out of the depths of his mind. "Are you alright?" She walked closer to him, still clad in sweats. She sat on the corner of his desk, her line of sight flickering to the case file and back to search his dark eyes. He sighed.

"I'm just thinking." He said quietly, closing his eyes before opening them into Vi's own eyes.

Her unusually light-coloured eyes were like the seasons. The stormy blue-grey of an angry ocean in the cold winter, mixed with green the colour of trees in the summertime. If Aaron looked closely enough, he could see flecks of gold, like leaves that blew around in autumn. When she smiled, her eyes were bright, like the spring, inspiring a certain giddiness into him.

"Thinking about what?" Vi inquired politely, smoothing back his hair. He closed his eyes at her touch. She made him feel like a lovestruck teenager back a highschool.

"Haley." Aaron murmured sincerely. He knew better than to keep secrets from her. They had agreed that there would be absolutely no secrets between them unless they endangered the life of the other or Jack. Both of them had been living with secrets for too long.

Even if they realized that they couldn't trust the other to have both feet in the relationship, they knew that there was no chance they would hear about it from another party first. They knew that whichever of them commited the supposed crime still had the respect to say what needed to be said to their face.

Vi sighed. He knew she knew how difficult this was for him. However, it didn't stop him feeling guilty. He was in love with Vi, he really was, but some days he just missed Haley, though he no longer was in love with her. But, there would always be that part of him that remembered that he had been in love with her. That part of him didn't want to let her go.

When he had first admitted that he thought regularly about Haley, Vi had explained that she understood. He was still in love with Haley at her death, and Jack was a frequent reminder of what he and Haley had had. This was another time that had made Hotch feel like he didn't deserve this beautiful young woman. She loved him, even when he still hung onto the spirit of his ex-wife.

"Vi," Aaron said quietly, standing up and wrapping his arms around her slim frame. She leaned her head on his shoulder and rested a hand on his chest, over his heart.

"Mm?" The small hum escaped her closed lips.

"You know I love you, right?" He asked. She chuckled.

"I'll never be able to forget if you keep reminding me, Aar." Viola teased. He stroked her short jet black hair, smiling to himself.

"Good." He murmured into her hair. She sighed.

"I'm going to go out on the porch for a while. Join me?" Vi offered. Hotch nodded, following her into their bedroom and then onto the balcony. The handsome porch swing that rested on the balcony overlooked the backyard, the perfect place for either of them to go and clear their heads. The balcony was a place that Vi had developed into a quiet atmosphere that was a great place to just be.

Aaron often left the house for a short period of time to just sit on the porch swing and close his eyes, not having to do anything or say anything or be anywhere. It was like a sort of cleansing.

The couple sat down on the swing, Vi curling up beside him. He let out a deep breath as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. He felt her eyelashes close, the long black hairs whispering against his skin. He closed his own eyes, experiencing the darkness of the night wash over him.

They sat there in silence, not saying anything, and barely moving; just listening to each other's heartbeat and feeling their breaths rhythm in and out at the same time.

After a time that felt like years but still not long enough, Aaron sighed. "I should probably go to bed." He whispered. Vi stirred against him. "Work, in the morning." She groaned.

"There are some things that I really don't like about your job." She muttered. He gave a breathy laugh, standing up from the swing and courteously lending her a hand. She took the offered hand and pulled herself off, stepping in to kiss him in the same fluid motion.

Hotch pulled her body closer to his own, his hands with a fast hold on her hips. Her own hands traveled up his chest to rest on either side of his neck, refusing to let him break from her. The kiss was soft, sweet, with only a little bit of tongue. Polite tongue, not tongue shoved down each other's throats.

Vi was the one to break the kiss, leaving Aaron with his eyes closed for a moment, half of his mind still deep in the passionate moment. The corners of Viola's mouth turned up in a smile, a teasing smile. "What was that about going to work in the morning?" She reminded him slyly.

"You're going to be the death of me, Austen." Hotch whispered. She grinned and a small giggle escaped her.

"Come on." She took his hand in hers and led him back into the bedroom. "You have to sleep if you're going to grow up to be a big, strong, FBI agent." She teased gently. He shrugged and they walked back inside into their deep purple bedroom.

Vi picked up her pyjamas off of her side of the bed, Aaron picking up his own from their usual spot on the floor beside his dresser. As they both undressed, Hotch couldn't help but let his gaze slide to the mirror, where he saw Vi's back was turned to him as she changed out of her day clothes.

She still had her pants on, but her back was bare. She slipped her short nightdress over her head, turning her head around as if she suspected him watching her, and winked. She stuck her tongue out playfully for good measure before tugging her pants off and tossing her dirty clothes into the laundry basket behind the door.

"She shoots, she scores!" She raised her arms in victory, her voice a loud whisper. He grinned and finished changing before climbing into bed next to Viola. "Got your go bag ready?" She asked knowingly. He shook his head. No, the go bag wasn't ready. Vi sighed. "You stay there, I'll do it." She assured him, motioning for him to stay lying on the bed.

She silently left the bedroom, and came back with a bin full of his clothes and his emptied bag. His clothes were neatly folded, thanks to her. She set the bin on the floor beside the closet, picking ties off of the rack and rolling them neatly, placing them in his bag. She did the same thing with his clothes, packing them neatly.

"Vi, you didn't have to." Aaron sighed as she climbed back into bed. She snuggled up next to him, kissing his cheek, which was slightly rough with stubble. "I'm a grown man. I can dress myself." He said with mock pride. She grinned.

"Did you really want to get out of bed?" Vi asked. He pressed his lips tightly together and glared at her.

"Shh." He closed his eyes, flicking off the light.

"Aaron?" Vi whispered. "I'm in love with you." Hotch felt like he was going to burst with happiness. Vi was his good luck charm. She and Jack were his reasons for waking up in the morning, rolling out of bed, and smiling.

"Good." He replied quietly, kissing her cheek before slowly, very slowly, fading into a dream-filled sleep.

* * *

**note:**

This was actually supposed to be part of an eleven-chapter series that I decided didn't really need to be written. However, if people like it enough or need another bit of Hotch/Viola to keep them going for the rest of their life, I would be up to doing another part to this. Thoughts?


End file.
